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Twedt takes more responsibility at Valpo

Article reposted from The Torch
Author: Brandon Vickrey

For the first time in 49 years, there’s someone new in charge of the Valparaiso University sports medicine department.

Rod Moore, whose first year as the school’s head athletic trainer was 1967, has retired, and Nate Twedt has been promoted to the head role.

“It’s going to be full of new challenges,” Twedt said. “There are a lot of things I didn’t realize go on. Now, I’m in charge of the whole program and looking after every sport, not just the sports I’ve been assigned.”

Twedt, who is in his 13th year at Valpo, will continue his role as the football athletic trainer. He passed on the chance to switch his assignment to men’s basketball, the school’s marquee sport.

“I’ve worked football for 12 years, and I think we’re on a path to that championship level,” he said. “I don’t want to quit right before they get there. When they start winning, I want to be a part of that. When I started, I wanted to be a Division-I football athletic trainer. That’s where I feel most comfortable.”

When the Valpo men’s basketball team opens the season against Southern Utah on Nov. 11 at the Athletics-Recreation Center, Zachary Creighton will sit in the chair that has been occupied by Moore for the better part of the last five decades.

Creighton, who earned his undergraduate degree from Purdue and master’s from Michigan State, previously served as the athletic trainer for the Fort Wayne Komets minor league hockey team. He begins work on Monday.

The department still features Carrie McKiddy (women’s basketball, women’s bowling) and Rebekah Reichard (volleyball, softball) along with four graduate assistants.

One of the biggest challenges facing the department is striking a work-family balance for the athletic trainers following Moore’s departure.

“You could always count on (Rod) to stay for a late night or come in early if necessary,” Twedt said. “He was always very flexible with his schedule in that way. That’s going to be a difficult transition for us. We won’t have that person – I’ve got three kids, Carrie’s got kids that are elementary age or younger. That’s going to be a constant challenge.”

Although Twedt would like to see the athletic training facility expanded, he and his coworkers make the most of the resources they have available.

“Obviously, if we had more space, we could do more things, but that’s not what we have,” Twedt said. “We have to make do with what we have. We set up rehab in the hallways. We do the best we can.”

Twedt said the most significant change he plans to implement is creating an environment where all athletic trainers are expected to assist athletes from any sport.

“We each have our own students we’re taking care of, but if I’m taking somebody to the doctor and a football player comes in, I expect the person who’s taking care of basketball to take care of that person since I’m not there,” he said. “That hasn’t been what we’ve always done in the past. Our staff is fairly small, so we have to work on accommodating everybody with what we have.”

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Rod Moore Steps Down as Head Athletic Trainer at Valparaiso

Article reposted from VALPO today
Author: VALPO today

Roderick Moore ’68, ATC, LAT, steps down as the head athletic trainer for the Valparaiso University athletic department on Sept. 1 after nearly 50 years in the role.

“During my career at Valparaiso University, I have had the good fortune of working with thousands of excellent student-athletes, many of whom have become good friends of mine.” said Moore. “Valpo has allowed me to work in a wide variety of athletic training roles in the community and at the state, national and world levels. I have learned what it takes to be successful at the very highest level of competition and feel privileged that I have been able to use that knowledge here in my time at Valpo.”

Moore became the department’s head athletic trainer in 1967 while completing his undergraduate work. He has since served in this role and worked directly with all Crusaders’ athletic programs during his time at Valpo. He worked as the primary athletic trainer for the men’s basketball team throughout his 49-year tenure and worked with the football program for more than four decades — including a 33-year stretch without missing a Crusader football game.

“For more than 50 years, Rod has contributed directly to the success of thousands of Valpo student-athletes,” said Mark LaBarbera, director of athletics. “Through his long-term commitment to his alma mater, he has demonstrated all that is good and worthy in college athletics. There are no words that can adequately express the appreciation and respect owed him for all he has done and all he has meant to Valpo Athletics. It has been a privilege to have him as a colleague.”

An active member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), Moore was a member of the NATA Board of Certification from 1977–1980, serving as chairman from 1978–1980. He served as president of the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association from 1978–1980. Moore has been a professional member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association as well.

Beyond Valparaiso University, Moore has lent his athletic training expertise to numerous other events. He served as the head athletic trainer at a NCAA College Division Track and Field Championship and as a staff athletic trainer for numerous other NCAA Championship events. In the summer of 1996, Moore worked at the field hockey venue at the Atlanta Olympics. He has been the medical director for regional competition at the Hoosier State Games as well.

Moore worked with the Valparaiso Community School District from 1972–1986. He has been active with the Lutheran Basketball Association of America (LBAA) since its Tournament of Champions moved to Valparaiso University in 1971, overseeing officials and athletic trainers, and has served on the LBAA Board of Directors since 1997.

Moore has received numerous accolades for his work throughout the years, earning induction into the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2014, Moore was awarded the Golden Pinnacle Award by the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association (GLATA), the highest honor a member of GLATA can receive and an award that recognizes those members who have provided outstanding leadership to GLATA.

Moore graduated from Valparaiso University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1968. He went on to earn his Athletic Training Certificate in 1970 and completed his master’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from South Dakota State University in 1982.

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Rod Moore is an Institution at Valpo

The year was 1963 and it was a much different era of Valparaiso basketball.

 This was long before the Homer Drew days – in fact Drew was a 19-year-old freshman at William Jewell College. It was long before The Shot and Valpo’s rise to mid-major prominence. It was long before the Crusaders moved to the “new” Athletics-Recreation Center court, which debuted in 1984.

 In these days, the Crusaders called the Hilltop Gym home. They finished the season seventh of seven teams in the Indiana Collegiate Conference, going 2-10 in league play under head coach Paul Meadows.

This was the first year current Valparaiso men’s basketball athletic trainer Rod Moore stepped on Valpo’s campus as a freshman undergrad. He’s been at Valpo ever since.

Moore became the university’s head athletic trainer in 1967, immediately after his graduation. He’s the longest-tenured employee at the entire university and has witnessed over half of the Valpo basketball games in the program’s 100-year history.

 “My pastor at my church in Spokane, Wash. was a classmate of (Valpo President) O.P. Kretzmen’s at the seminary,” Moore said. “They both played on the baseball team, and they both called the other one the little fat guy on the team. They were good friends, so that’s how I found out about Valpo. It was the first place I applied, and I got accepted in October of my senior year.”

 Moore said the biggest change in his time with the program has been the development of the facilities. Although the current ARC is a significant improvement over previous facilities, its training room was designed for 225 athletes, and the school now has 450.

 In recent years, Moore has observed the similarities and differences between Bryce and Homer Drew.

 “They’re both very good teachers,” he said. “Homer was the ultimate teacher, and that’s what brought him back when Scott left. He loves to be on the floor teaching. Bryce picked up on that and picked up a lot of stuff from the pros. He’s got a lot of experience around him. He can pick (the assistant coaches’) brains and come up with the best solution.”

 Indiana State’s Larry Bird – who would go on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history – delivered the most memorable play in Moore’s tenure at Valpo when the Sycamores visited the Crusaders in 1977.

 “In Hilltop, you can see the corner of the court when you first come in the double doors,” Moore said. “If you put your feet right together and jump backward out of bounds, before you touch down, can you make a basket that way? Because Larry Bird did that. We didn’t have a 3-point shot in those days, but he jumped and ended up at least three-feet out of bounds. He got nothing but net. You couldn’t ever forget that one.”

 At one time, Moore went 32 straight years without missing a Valpo football games. He can count on one hand the number of Valpo basketball game he’s missed – most recently the NCAA Tournament game against Gonzaga on March 18, 2004, when eye surgery prevented him from flying to Seattle.

 The obvious question surrounding Moore is how much longer the Valpo legend will continue his run as head athletic trainer. Moore said he plans to stick around one or two more years before retiring.

 “It’s gotten to a point where it’s tough to extend your career because all sports are all-year around,” Moore said. “I usually have 30 days of vacation and some of those can roll over, but basketball goes 11 months out of the year. During the two weeks after the season and two weeks in the summer that basketball is off, I’m busy with other sports. It all depends on my health; that’s the big thing.”

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